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One of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t journal my life in NYC as a model. (There isn’t much else I regret) What an awesome blog would that have made!

I just don’t know why I didn’t, but the thought didn’t even cross my mind, even though I had a blog back then, that I put on hold while modeling.

Not only did I not write about it, but I failed to take any pictures that weren’t with my cell. I guess when your job is to be photographed, the last thing you want is more photography. So I would snap quick pics with my cell when I was bored and that was that. But how much fun would it have been to write a blog about the fabulous underbelly of modeling?

But instead I have hundreds of low quality iPhone shots from castings, shows, shoots and life  ( well plus a bunch of unrealistic shots from my portfolio that would say nothing about what being a model is like).

I guess it would have been strange walking into castings with a professional camera or dragging this heavy bohemeth with me to shoots, dinners, award shows and clubs.

I still, to this day, have certain designers or casting directors call me (via assistants, of course) to be in a show or promoters texting about a club opening or some event they are inviting me to. I haven’t been in the business since 2009 and have let them know I’m no longer in NYC. But I guess connections are everything, aren’t they? I remember I always thought it was strange how some casting directors thought you were THE SHIT and others thought you were “Meh!” How opinions differ. And how much luck is involved in making it as a model or not. I would have really liked to have stuck with it long enough to see but I started way too late and soon it was time for us to think about kids. Right before I left NYC for good (at that time I didn’t know I was not going to come back. I was only going home for the holidays, but ended up deciding to stay), I was sent to a casting for American Eagle’s new line Aerie. See, the way things work is you go to anywhere from 1 to 10 castings a day and if you’re good, you might get one or two that day (depending on the size of the job). If these are big castings (like campaigns), then you can go for months without getting any big ones (because the competition is fierce). But it’s all about making sure you have steady work and if you’re new to the scene, like I was, it’s also about making connections and building your book.

JOBS:

1. fashion show prep

2. bridal shoot in Miami

3. same bridal shoot. I just LOVED that dress

4. After a show in our model’s apartment

5. a bridal show

6.another fashion show (after hair/make up)

7. showroom

8. some shoot

9. going home after a shoot (people on the subway probably thought I was crazy with that make up, but i had no time to remove it since i was already running late to a casting)

So the Aerie campaign casting went well but I didn’t even give it second thought, because chances were that someone else with a kick-ass book would get the job. That was until I got a callback and then after that a hold (a callback is when they want to see you again after having narrowed down their choice to fewer girls and a hold is an actual hold put on a certain day making sure the model is available for them for the day of the shoot while they are trying to decide between 2-3 girls). This was huge -to be put on hold by American Eagle. It was between me and another girl. I had to delay my flight home but didn’t end up getting the campaign. They picked the other girl because I was “just too European looking for AMERICAN Eagle”. Totally understandable. And damn my Russian genes! (ok not really)

Just random in mirror shots of outfits I wore.

1. Getting ready for Halloween
2. Going to a party (BCBG dress)
3. not sure what that photo was lol
4. dressing room
5. this is how skinny i was. and that’s how skinny you HAD to be to model seriously (in NYC). I was not the skinniest girl by far. Yet strangely enough I was healthy, ate healthy, excersised. A bit of an akward pose too.
6. Trying on a gown for some award show I was going that evening
7. at the gym (boo, I want my abs back)
8. going to a party. I think this was for Britney Spear’s birthday at Tenjune and she never showed to her own bday party, but there were stilt walkers (it was during the circus album)
9. going to a casting
10. going to a casting
11. going to a casting
12. going somewhere (apparently)
13. this one is funny to me, because I look soooooo tired. I rememeber clearly it was the morning after some really late party night
14. going to a party
15. going to a casting
16. My christmas dress

I did have fun though. Oh how much fun I had! Would I let my daughter model? There’s nothing I won’t support Alexis in doing but, like hell, she will go there alone until she’s 18, only if I can travel there with her. That’s even if that is something she wants to do.

I’d love to do a regular Flashback Friday post, but I gotta be realistic. I have almost no time and a million more relevant posts that I want to write, so this type of post will have to be a spur of the moment kind of thing, like this time.

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I am way behind on posting photos and blogging about things, because I get 10-20 minutes every nap to blog which is not even close to enough time to write a post, let alone prepare photos for it.

I read somewhere recently that the best gift you can give a mom blogger is 2 hours of uninterrupted time to blog. This couldn’t be more true and that’s the luxury I don’t have even when I ignore dishes, cooking and cleaning.

About 2  months ago, we went to visit some of our friends and introduce them to Lexi. We hadn’t seen them for a long time prior to that, so we were all looking forward to the visit.

As expected, when we arrived they were already 3-4 drinks into the “party” and were having fun with their other friends preparing for a fishing trip they were taking off on that evening. Alexis was sleeping ( exhausted after a huge meltdown in a car) , so my mom volunteered to stay with her while we went in.

When my baby girl was up, my mom brought her out, all sleepy and disoriented and the whole gang just started “oohing and ahhhhing” and I am sure scared her a bit. So I picked her up and J. walked up to her to say hello. She kept looking at me, like “Is this ok?” and then he takes her in her arms and she just breaks down in tears (broke my heart). She wouldn’t calm down for a while regardless of what I did and I felt so bad.

J kept repeating “My sons never cried. I’d put them on my shoulders and we’d go places”

Yeah probably not at 2.5 months, J, not at 2 and a half months.

So I kept her away from “loud voices” and “beard” while Andrew and I took turns walking around with her

Honestly, that was my first experience with someone getting into her face and next time I’ll know to just shut it down or warn the “new person” to take it slow and smile at her from some distance before taking her into their arms. By the end of the evening, our pouty and quiet Lexi warmed up slightly to both men and actually smiled at them with a very tentative smile.

But what I really appreciated is that one of them stayed back the whole time, watching, being careful, not scaring Alexis. By the end of the evening, he gently walked up to her, gently smiled at her and she just lit up.

We’re going back there for a nice 4th of July party that J holds every year and this time I am guarding my Lexi until I see she’s totally fine with all the people. These 2 months might have made a difference because she absolutely loved Leeka who visited on Father’s Day and spent most of the time being carried and kissed by her. I’ll post pics in a week or so, but she had so much fun with her and a smile never left her face.

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Everyone has bought and used bouncers, seats, swings for their babies, and they are all fine, all virtually the same and work relatively good for most babies. Not for Alexis, who has done her best to defy everything that is written about newborns and babies out there. She feels “Meh!!” about most of them. We’ve tried 4-5 different seats and she hasn’t really liked them all that well.

One of the issues that some natural parenting books and authors have with seats and bouncers is the fact that the baby is completely limited in how they can move when place in these seats. So instead of moving around, or moving to adjust to the parent’s body while they’re carried in carriers or in arms, babies are sitting near motionless in these “baby-holders”.  We’ve done a really good job spending a ton of time carrying Alexis and playing with her on the floor, facilitated by family help around the house and the fact that we both work from home.

However, sometimes a baby just needs to be put in a seat- that’s a fact of life and there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t strap her in a carrier when you need to make a meal- that’s dangerous. You can’t walk around picking things up and bending with a baby in a carrier. You cannot eat a hot meal with a baby in a carrier. I also never appreciated the fact that these seats have to always be on the floor. What kind of brain development can you expect from a baby when all she/he can see is your legs? I know, it is frowned upon, but we got around it by putting Lexi in a bouncer on a huge center island in the kitchen as long as there’s at least one parent who is constantly watching (and not doing something else, but is there TO watch and talk to her). But I never felt ok letting anyone else watch her because I couldn’t trust them not to step away for  second thinking “Oh nothing would happen” .

{ Lexi is wearing a Polarn O Pyret onesie and Jefferies Socks’ tights }

Now what I found recently is a seat that is very diffferent from anything I’ve seen out there.

It’s by The First Years and it’s called a Kicking Coaster.

First of all, it’s sturdy. As in, it has the kind of base that cannot be tipped over. It’s not a bouncer, it doesn’t move in a way a bouncer does. A baby simply can’t get enough inertia to flip it over. So I feel much much better putting it at our eye level when cooking and talking with her. Now I am sure The First Years doesn’t recommend putting it on high ground, just like some other products  have to warn against some ridiculous situation that any normal person wouldn’t even think to create, like don’t stick your fingers into an outlet or something equally crazy. Yes, we all know to never leave a baby unattented in most situations. It’s a given. But I feel pretty darn good about being right next to her cooking while she plays in the seat, BECAUSE she is strapped into the kind of seat that isn’t prone to “flipage”

What also makes it very different from other seats is the fact that  it’s interactive from the motor skills standpoint. Alexis would NEVER stand for sitting stationary in anything. She won’t sit in a stroller unless it is moving, in a carrier unless she is being walked, in a seat unless she’s talked to, on the floor unless she has foot support to crawl. She is the furthest from a complacent baby I have ever seen. {which paints a very hectic future for us once she is truly mobile}.

This seat is the only one that somewhat entertains her for a period of time. The seatbelt has a rattle/teether attached to it that I promptly replaced with an organic Haba clutching toy (you know me). Though I have to say that possibly that was unecessary, because The First Years products rate EXCELLENT on HealthyStuff.org
It has a kicky pad that is soft and rebounding and the seat itself glides back and forth when pushed (or can be made stationary for newborns). She’d kick off with her legs and straighten them thus sending the seat back, then relax her knees and glide back down. And every time she touches the kicky pad, she gets rewarded with lights and music. And unlike some other kicky pads (yes, it’s you, Tiny Love Gym that we love so much, except for your kicky pad sucks), it’s very touchy. So it doesn’t take a lot of effort to trigger it (sometimes our cats trigger it by brushing against it).

She really does get a kick out of it (get it? get it? ) and as she grows and gets smarter and even more aware, she’ll enjoy it even more.

So  why we love it:

• touchy kick pad
• lights and music
• glides back and forth rather than bounces
• reacts to baby’s motions
• lets baby exercise his/her legs
• can be made stationary with a click of a button

The only complaint I have is the recline of the seat. It seems awkward for Alexis. It’s sort of reclined. I think it was designed that way to accommodate both newborns and older babies, but I wish it was more upright. But to be completely fair, Alexis hates anything that is half way reclined, because she wants to sit upright all the time, so I am very surprised that she’ll actually tolerate the recline of this seat for a bit.

The First Years has a lot of baby items that I like, so be sure to check their website.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FIRST YEARS

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The First Years would like to give this seat away to one lucky reader. This time it’s very simple with just a few entries.

The First Years Kicking Coaster
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and Mandatory Entries: {read carefully}

There are 2 mandatory entries , after which you will have additional entries available,
This giveaway is open to US residents only.
The winning entry will be verified and the winner disqualified if the action is not found or if the mandatory items are not fullfilled.
Each giveaway has specific rules, so read them on the widget (including which countries are eligible). See the rafflecopter widget for additional terms and conditions.

{If you’re not sure how to use to enter, feel free to watch this video tutorial or email me at contact {at} prebabyblog {dot} com
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Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. The First Years provided me with a product sample to review. All opinions are 100% my own.

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I have stayed away from these posts because honestly I don’t enjoy reading them on other people’s blogs, so I just assume other people wouldn’t want to see them here.
However, given the readiness of the photographs and lack of time currently, combined with the more “real” nature of cell phone photos, I thought I’d give it a try and you let me know if it’s something that I should occasionally share here or not.

I have a few weeks to catch up on, so let’s start with the week furthest back (top left to bottom right)

1. nursing at the pool 2. Lexi getting all excited about a red flower on the window 3. grumpy pants
4. all set with a fan and a Haba doll 5. out and about, had to put her to sleep in the car while hubby shopped 6. same day, woke up doing tummy time on the seat
7. she loves tummy time in the morning 8. trying to get things done around the house while Lex is in her Nordic carrier 9. more tummy time (seriously that girl is only happy on her tummy or trying to crawl )

1. more tummy time 2. nursing with a friend 3. more carrier action
4. our house 5. lounging outside 6. morning stroller walks
7. up from a nap 8. bathy bath time 9. her first pig tail 

1. Loving the new sunny stroll arch 2. reading books ( really she was just interested in eating it) 3. she loves being walked around on mommy’s neck
4. check out that leg lol 5. don’t ask, she does that often with her favorite teether 6. “mommy, need boobie!”
7. more walks 8. out by the pool with friends 9. helping mama work

1. smiley morning girl 2. fathers day with friends by the pool 3. Leeka visiting
4. we can sit up unsupported now 5. more tummy time on our favorite supermat 6. kisses from mommy
7. crawling from supermat to her gym- our family room is her playground 8. women in black 9. going for a walk with another 4months old friend

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As expected we’ve been given a good share of guesses from friends,family and strangers alike as to who they think Alexis looks like. To us, she looks like her own person. We talked about it today and  she looks like either one of us, which is absolutely amazing! Her features are so distinct. I am so curious and excited to see how her baby features transform into kid features. If we had to choose, we both tend to think she now looks more like me as a baby, while before she looked more like Andrew as a baby. It’s really hard to say because Andrew doesn’t have many baby pictures. Most people who choose to express their opinion on the matter say she looks like daddy.

So I thought I would post our baby pictures so that you could compare and see if you notice any resemblance between Alexis and I or Alexis and Andrew.

Below are pictures of me at 2 years of age and 6 months of age.

Here is Andrew as a baby (not sure of age) and as a small kid (also no age)

On a related but unrelated topic, while looking for these photos I bumped into the project I did a few years back where I recreated my childhood photos. Those are fun, I need to do more. And I will certainly do these type of photos with Alexis as she grows.

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When I was preparing for Alexis’ arrival, I was planning on pumping, storing milk & having daddy feed Alexis from the bottle occasionally. That meant that, even though I’d be exclusively breast feeding (EBF), I would still need all the supplies of a mom who bottle feeds. There lay 2 very big and important dilemmas: bottles that don’t contain toxic chemicals and bottle warmer’s that don’t kill all that is good about breast milk in the first place.

I’m iffy about plastics, even plastics that claim that they are BPA/pthalates free. I always worry that if BPA is one component of plastics that disrupts hormones and just completely screws up our system, what’s not to say that there isn’t some other chemical that hasn’t been tested yet, considering most chemicals used by us in every day life haven’t been evaluated as to the effects they have on our bodies. It turns out my fears were not unfounded. While most companies did away with BPA, the question is what DID they replace it with? The answer for some of them – equally dangerous BPS that hasn’t been studied as well as BPA. I won’t go into detail but you can read more about it here if you’re interested.

So the only reasonable solution to the plastic bottle dilemma was glass. Glass bottles don’t leech any chemicals. Yes they are heavy and slightly more expensive but who can put a price on our kids’ health (did you know BPA is also linked to kids’ behavioral problems?). The problem with glass was they are pretty limited with what you can get. I wanted a wide neck and some kind of system that helped with the air bubbles. After spending hours searching the internet and lists of best bottles of each category, I found  the bottles that are the closest to what I want. You might not have the same needs or concerns, but this is what worked for us.

Glass bottles tend to be limited to a standard bottle and nipple. But when you’re a new mom, you’re worried about everything, including ” If I give my baby a bottle, it will screw up breast feeding”. The other concern that glass bottle manifactorers sometimes ignore is the flow of the milk and air bubbles that can cause gas. Ideally I wanted a system that prevents gas bubbles from forming and isn’t dripping with milk (I.e. more difficult to suck, mimicking a breast).

The closest I found to what I needed/wanted was Born Free glass bottles.

All their bottles have a wide nipple base to sort of mimick the shape of the breast. This way your baby should have minimal breast/bottle confusion, as the latch is not much different from the breast. They have a fancy-shmancy system called Active Flow Venting that according to their website “… [mimicks] mom’s natural milk flow, helps prevent nipple confusion and reduces air ingested while feeding, helps reduce colic symptoms like gas pain, spit-up, crying, and fussiness.”

Ok, EXACTLY what I needed. How did it fare in the real world? Exactly how you’d expect! Alexis has never had any gas pains or tummy trouble and the bottle definitely didn’t add to it. She did have reflux, but I hadn’t noticed any increase in that after bottle feeding, and even though we did introduce a bottle before the recommended 6 weeks, she’s obviously still breastfeeding, so no nipple confusion for this little lady.

All in all, there aren’t any other brand or bottles I am ever going to need to buy, because Born Free does exactly what I need.

I had contacted Born Free to help me run a giveaway for you guys and they would LOVE to give you a chance to win a Born Free 3 pack glass bottle set. When you’re done reading, scroll down to enter.

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The second discovery I made as I was researching a feeding system other than my breasts was that bottle warmers aren’t all that they are cracked up to be.  You aren’t supposed to heat milk in the microwave- that is well known. But almost any other heating system that uses steam or boiling water is just as detrimental to our natural breast milk. There’s the issue of hot spots, loss of those precious antibodies and nutrients we breastfeed our babies for, and the leakage of chemicals from the plastic containers. You can’t imagine how happy I was when I found a super cool looking Kiinde warmer.  It’s a warmer that can be used for breastmilk, formula, bottles, bags, baby food, pretty much anything that fits into it.

The concept is the following: it uses “… low temperature, nutrient-safe water bath that is safe for ALL bottle and bag types. The water in the warmer is about as warm as warm tap water.” Awesome, right?  Here how it’s achieved, if you’re curious for that type of thing ( I always am. Love the “How things work” documentaries)  It has “…circulating bath of warm water that improves warming efficiency, allowing the use of lower temperature water without compromising warming speed. The thermostatically controlled water bath is maintained at the temperature of warm tap water…” In layman’s terms, “it’s the flowing warm water that gets the job done safely and fast.”

Kiinde Kozii has a timer knob that you turn and it shuts off completely on its own when it is done. {Did you know how many bottle warmers that I looked into do not have an AUTO shut off button? That’s ridiculous} It also has a technology that ensures that the milk is always warmed up to approximately the same temperature, so your baby enjoys it like she/he would straight out of the breast.

It’s really a wonderful invention, especially for working moms and isn’t like anything else I’ve seen on the market.

LEARN MORE:

*** Kiinde Kozii website *** Facebook ***

BUY IT: Amazon.com

WIN IT: See Rafflecopter at the end of this post.

3 Pack Glass Bottles from Born Free & Kiinde Kozii Bottle Warmer

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and Mandatory Entries: {read carefully}

There are 3 mandatory entries for each giveaway, after which you will have additional entries available,
and 2 daily entries for which you can come back to enter daily. This giveaway is open to continental US residents only.
The winning entry will be verified and the winner disqualified if the action is not found or if the mandatory items are not fullfilled.
Make sure to notate how you’re following the blog in the extra info field (entry #1). The entry won’t count if that information is missing.
Each giveaway has specific rules, so read them on the widget (including which countries are eligible). See the rafflecopter widget for additional terms and conditions.

{If you’re not sure how to use to enter, feel free to watch this video tutorial or email me at contact {at} prebabyblog {dot} com
Otherwise, make sure to read everything carefully. Click the DO IT link first, then I’VE DONE IT once the action is completed}
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Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. Companies provided me with a product sample to review. All opinions are 100% my own.

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I am an iPhone fanatic. As in “can’t go anywhere without it” or “can’t do anything without it” or “have withdrawals when I am without it”. You get the idea.

My life is too dependent on all the apps, the instant email checking, twitter, facebook, instagram, the texting to my friends, buying things off of Amazon, researching a question that just popped into my head. So needless to say, it has been a trusty tool in the first 3 months after having a baby. If you don’t have an iphone yet ( or a similar platform phone), you’re truly missing out. Because while it can be a HUGE distraction (and that’s something we all have to fight and have the self-control to work on), it can also be brilliantly helpful during certain times.

So I’ve compiled a list of 9 10 apps that have proven themselves helpful to me as a new mom.

Baby Connect

Lifesaver in the first 3 months. I am serious. If you’re expecting a baby or have an under 3 months old, just stop reading and go and buy it ( Ok, don’t stop reading, but do go buy it once you’re done). It’s a baby tracking app. There are a ton of them out there, but this one is user-friendly, has a nice looking interface, good customization options and does EXACTLY what you need. I don’t know how I would have survived if I didn’t use it in the first few months. Before you’re able to decipher your baby’s cries ( and even after you do, it’s not always clear what they want), this app will let you know when your precious one last slept, last ate, when you pumped and how long she/he was doing all these things. There are milestones to record, medical info, pedi visits, play, photos, activities, moods, etc etc.
In the beginning when Lexi would start crying I’d refer to the app to see what it is she most likely wants based on the time, or which boob to offer her at each feeding.

Great Tool!

Wunderlist

Besides the awesome German sounding name ( who doesn’t like that?), this TO-DO List app is everything you need. And you can trust me because in conjunction with hubby we have gone through over 2 DOZENS To-do apps in search of that perfect one (our attempts at being productive). With a new baby, things can slip your mind so easily and even if you have an outstanding memory, when you have a newborn you can’t always jump on things you just thought of. Which means you need to either try and juggle the million things you need to do in your head until your brains explode or find a good to-do list system that preferably doesn’t consist of pen&paper. Don’t get me wrong: I am as much of a fan of the traditional to-do list keeper (with all those cross outs and neatly handwritten things-mmm so satisfactory), but a piece of paper won’t last long in your newly crazy pee/poop/spitup soaked household. So Wunderlist WILL save you. It can be used among all the tech you have (laptop, ipad,desktop,ipod, iphone), as it is Internet based and synchs with all your gadgets. You can have the app downloaded on both your and your hubby’s phone, that way when he’s out grocery shopping while you’re home with your babe, you can quickly add a shopping list from the comfort of your rocker while your baby is sleeping and voila, your hubby refreshes his app and he’s all set with the things he needs to buy.

Needless to say, I’ve done it about a million times AND I am so smart that I also have a HONEY-DO LIST on it (my husband IS smarter though, since he pretends that he can’t see it).

I have a million lists in mine: home, work, baby to buy ( I always think of things we need when I can’t just jump on amazon and buy them, so i enter them into my phone), blog to do, posts to write ( same thing here: I think of an awesome post topic, so I enter it before I get distracted and forget), things to clean, shopping list, honey-do, etc etc. There are 17 lists total that I have in this app and that’s how I keep organized and my brain from exploding from everything I want/need to get done. When I enter an item into it, I mentally remove that thought from my head, otherwise I go crazy.

Baby Shusher

A recent find and a pretty cool one. Alexis is not one to go to sleep on her own. Ok, who are we kidding, she has NEVER ONCE in her short little life fell asleep without what they call “parental help”. And most of the time (ok, who are we kidding? ALL THE TIME!), she needs a lot of said help. There’s rocking and shushing and jiggling and swaddling, and singing and talking and more vigorous rocking and louder shushing…. Whew! I’m just tired thinking of it. Sometimes when my little Lexi would cry and squirm and I would rock her and shush really loudly, I’d run out of breath, my throat would go dry and I’d start coughing and choking (sorta). Not fun, but you do what you gotta do to help your baby fall asleep. Well, with time and a light routine Alexis has gotten better at falling asleep but shushing has always been a part of her going to sleep. This app is brilliant. Some dude recorded himself shushing really loudly and made an app out of it. You can set it to run for as long as you want, it’s this nice rhythmic shush sound and it can even adjust the volume automatically depending on how loudly the baby is screaming (though who leaves a screaming baby alone that it needs the app to adjust it?) AND… the kicker is you can record your own shushing sound! Currently it plays my own rendition of Twinkle Twinkle on a loop.

Ambiance

White noise at its best. That’s another app that helped us and is helping still. The best one out there in terms of noise quality. And you can make your custom noises like white noise+heartbeat+bubbles.

NOOK

Oh what would I do without my trusted nook app. It’s a B&N e-book reader. Nice and simple. I found Barnes & Noble has the best selection of e-books out there. I made a mistake of buying 2 paper baby books and I haven’t been able to read them at all. My nook books are quite the opposite. I keep reading one after another. That’s one of the more productive things I can do while rocking sweet Alexis. I’ve read about 10-15 baby/parenting/brain/sleep books in this time. Btw all the books listed in the BOOK page are available in eformat.

FLIPBOARD

My new discovery. It lets you read all your sources in a super cute and convenient format of a photo flip book. Add your twitter feed, Facebook feed and friends, google reader, and a million other blogs/magazines, newspapers, fashion, news, politics, tech, advice-all presented in a photo format. I’m a HIGHLY visual person, I need eye candy along with my reading (hence the million trillion photos on this blog). And as you flip if you see something you want to read later, it also works with your Pocket app. Again it’s a life saver when I have to rock/pump, etc

I’ve gotten some great ideas about streamlining my life from the Lifehack and Lifehacker boards. So be sure to add those.

POCKET

Have you ever been reading something and got interrupted but by the time you were free again, forgot what you were reading or lost the link? How about seeing an article that interests you but you can’t read at that moment so you pass on it? Or while reading a post you click on a link you were curious about then followed another link and another and completely lost the original source? Or finally you come upon an article written with such an annoying or small font you have trouble focusing on it?

Well with a baby I am sure you have.

You can thank me for introducing you to POCKET. I’m in love with the app and it’s so simple. It’s a reader, a bookmarker and formatter.

Here’s how it works: every time you bump into an article you’d like to read but don’t have time for, you hit read later and it instantly adds it to your pocket. The functionality is built in with most apps and if it’s not you simply copy the link into pocket or email it to your account. You can also install a bookmarklet on your desktop/laptop browser.
Once you find yourself looking for something to read, you go into your pocket app and it displays all your pocketed articles in a nice easy to read format (much more pleasant than the design of some articles/blogs out there). You’re done reading, hit check mark. Want to save for later, favorite it. See a link you want to follow but you’re not done reading the article, hold it and hit read later. Brilliant!

I use it in conjunction with Flipboard and it’s so easy. I have a ton of articles there that sounded like something I might want to read when I get a chance, and they sit patiently waiting for me to get time to read.

Mobile RSS

This is for blog readers. If you use a google reader to read blogs (and if you don’t, you should), this is an app for you. It’s basically a Google Reader in an app- all your lists, folders in a nice and easy to read format, with an option to add posts to “Pocket” (see above). FREE

DIPTIC

Ok, so we all take a bazillion photos of our kids on our cell phone. I am not going to list the reasons why I don’t think cell phone photos are good enough, but the truth of the matter is we don’t always have our cameras on us when the precious one smiles or rolls over for the first time. So we do what we have to do and snap photos on our cell phone. I am not sure if most of you do the same, but I take 5-6 photos of the same subject in hopes of getting a better angle/light in it. So I end up with a trillion pictures of essentially the same thing.
If you’re the same way, please don’t tell me you post them all on Facebook. “But my baby’s face is funny here and cute here and goofy here. Which one do I choose?” The answer is ALL but in one photo. So instead of posting 3 essentially same poor quality cell phone shots to your FB account, you combine them into a really nice collage in Diptic (Or Framemagic is another app). It improves all the photos and gives your facebook friends something attractive to look at. Plus you can do a diptic of seemingly unrelated items to give you photo a feel.

Project 365

I haven’t used this app for a while, but it is a great tool for a new mom. The concept is to take 1 photo a day for a year ( and it’ll probably be of your kid). It formats it in a nice calendar view and later you can go back to see what you or your baby was up to on the same day last year

What are some of your favorite apps that you’d like to share?

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Husband showing Lexi things in the pantry and labeling them for her (per my request, helps with speech development in the future):

- “This is bread!” (point at a stale French baguette) “It’s rock hard…. You could fend off a thief with it….”

- “This is macaroni. It’s good. You can spread it on the floor and the thief would crunch on them as he walks and you’ll know he is coming…”

- “These are potato chips.” {pauses as he’s thinking} “…You can feed them to the thief and he will die from obesity?”

{while changing the diaper}

- “Clean up on aisle one. Clean up on aisle one. And by aisle one I mean the crack of your ass.”

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I’ve been preparing for this post for a while and whew it’s finally here!

As many of you know, my husband and I resolved to try our best to use organic clothing for Alexis for the first 6 months.

The reason for that is, like any other change we’ve made, to prevent Alexis’ exposure to chemicals as much as we can handle it. The number 6 months came from the fact that for the first six months of a baby’s life, her skin is very porous and absorbent, which means anything put on her skin gets right through to her bloodstream ( a percentage of it, anyways). That was also the reason why we attempted to cloth diaper at first (though it didn’t work for us when she was little, but I am hoping to resume within a month or two, unless Elements Naturals’ new 100% natural and compostable diapers turn out to be amazing). The other reason for using a 6 months limit was to give ourselves a sense that it doesn’t have to be that way forever, in case we find it more difficult or more expensive than we expected.

Obviously, everything can’t be changed to organic overnight or even ever. Our clothes all can’t be organic and she spends a significant amount of time in our arms, swings and seats and beds can’t all be organic. That’s something we expected and don’t fret about. Though I gotta tell you, if I had all the time in the world, I’d start an all organic baby line, including strollers, swings, mats, seats and rockers. I know I’d buy that.

Initially, I thought it would cost an arm and a leg to buy organic clothing for her, but shopping sales and using Zulily is turning out to be no more expensive than conventional stuff I would buy. In the last 4 months I have learned a lot about organic baby clothing, and I am happy to say that  while we won’t stay exclusively organic after 6 months, I will most likely continue shopping at my favorite organic stores and brands as much as possible.

I already posted about some of my favorite organic brands, but I have a different perspective on them now, since Alexis has had a chance to try them all. So here’s the update you’ve asked for and a big giveaway that you can enter to win a lot of baby clothing {details of each brand’s giveaway item are in the descriptions}

BAMBINO LAND

Types of clothes: *baby* *toddler* *child* * accessories

Bambino Land has plenty of organic baby clothes, but I think their true strength is in their muslin swaddles. I wrote about Bambino Land’s swaddles before, but if you’re new to this blog and you’re still swaddling your baby, you need to check these out. Unlike most muslin swaddles out there,  these organic ones truly give you a tight swaddle. As a little newborn, Alexis could wiggle out of her A&A swaddle in a matter of seconds, so pretty quickly we learned that if we use our pretty Hawaiian swaddle, she’ll wake up still swaddled. It’s stretchy but taut.
The gown, hat and receiving blanket combo was used by us when she was first born and thus holds a very special place in my heart.

GIVEAWAY ITEM: 2 pack organic muslin swaddle Open to US and Canada.

Polarn O. Pyret

Types of clothes: *baby* *toddler* *child* *adult* *accessories*

This was my recent discovery and it got bookmarked immediately. Polarn O. Pyret isn’t an exclusively organic clothing brand, but they do have a very cute Eco Line that I was able to pick some items off of. They also offer really cute maternity & nursing clothing and matching dad style. I have to say, just like some other brands above, they stand out in terms of style. I would even have to go so far as to say that the styles definitely beat most conventional brands. You know how you look at a brand and you know they have IT. That’s how I felt about PO.P. There’s something about the patterns that makes them different from any other brand. And you are guaranteed that your baby will NEVER wear an ordinary outfit, or the same outfit as another baby. Go see for yourself. My favorite item is this little playsuit. It has a ZIPPER! Who was this brilliant person who finally put a zipper on a baby’s overall? I mean we’ve been struggling to snap those clips on all her footies and here… Ziiiiip! Done! I am in love with the pattern here: navy,white, fuscia,orange and blue- Who would have thunk it? :) It looks striking! Again, I am so going to shop there more. This playsuit is currently on sale, so if you love it, you better get it.

The white onesie is a part of the  ruffle collection with adorable ruffle butt tights that I couldn’t get since they were out of our size. So instead we wear it with equaly matching colorful heart capri from Jefferies Socks.

Deals: End of season Sale and Mama Liquidation sale (up to 70% off)

GIVEAWAY ITEM: 2 Polarn O Pyret baby/child/toddler items,  US only

NOSILLA ORGANICS

Types of clothes: *baby* *toddler* *child*

I initially got introduced to Nosilla Organics through Zulily where I buy most of my organic baby clothes. I purchased quite a few items from their winter collection. Unfortunately, by the time the items arrived from Zulily, our short Florida “winter” turned into a ridiculously hot spring, and I didn’t get much use out of their cute clothing, except for warm footies. That’s when Allison told me about their new spring line and sent me this romper. I LOVE the spring line. One little silly fear of going organic that I had was that I’d be saddled with dressing my baby in drab looking clothes, but companies like this just have proven me so wrong. I want all of their stripped styles and their adorable new prints! One thing my husband noted was that the footies that we got from the winter collection are really “solid and warm”. It’s simple cotton but it’s so thick that it makes it a perfect sleeper without any need for a blanket. SO if you keep your house cold at night, this is probably the thickest cotton sleeper you’ll ever find. It’s always been his favorite. The spring line, though, is light and free and beautiful and happy!

Deals: Some cute styles heavily discounted,  including this playsuit I really want!

GIVEAWAY ITEM: 1 or 2 items not exceeding $50, Open Internationally

BOOB DESIGN

Types of clothes: *baby*  *maternity* *nursing*

Boob, ah, Boob! You know how much I love Boob (I feel funny saying that). It’s one of those companies that I can easily say I want every single piece of. Up until now, I’ve been talking about Boob in terms of maternity and nursing wear, but really they have a very cute, alas small, organic baby line. From the Mama and Baby sets that you see below to onesies and baby terry sets,  they do have clothing worth taking a look at. Two things that make their onesies stand out from the rest of the clothes Alexis has. They are meant to grow with the baby.  The one size onesie lasted her from birth to 4 months (at 18 lbs and 26.5 in of length). There’s enough stretch in each piece that even with Alexis who hates getting dressed, I am able to slip these over her head without too much fuss. They have a great fit since they snap back to their original shape once on the body. And another feature that took me a few months to even notice (yeah I know I can be oblivious sometimes) is the double crotch clips, designed to extend the life of the onesie as you baby gets longer. Amazing! Everyone should do this, seeing how babies grow so fast. Oh wait, but then they wouldn’t sell as much clothes :) Duh!

Deals: Outlet discounts up to 50% off baby stuff and more

GIVEAWAY ITEM: Green terry set open Internationally

FINN & EMMA

Types of clothes: *baby* *toddler* *accessories*

Another favorite of mine! Honestly, I’ve been very surprised to have discovered so many cute and unconventional looking styles in organic clothes. Finn and Emma cuts the line between “earthy looking” and “cute as hell”. I can freely say that this footie was our favorite item for the first month of Alexis’ life until she grew out of it. Doesn’t she look adorable in it? So little and newborn-y looking :) It’s also very very thick, so it makes  a great sleeper or a winter footie. I loved the feel of the fabric- it was the thickest but softest outfit for that first month. Finn and Emma goes out of their way to add nice decorative touches to their clothes, which is one of the reasons I love them so much. That flower on her foot  is what makes the footie so special for me and the reason why I picked this particular style. It takes ALL my willpower not to spend all my money on Finn and Emma. They are expensive, no doubt about it, but well worth it, so I am waiting until Alexis gets a bit bigger and doesn’t grow out of her clothes so fast and then I am stocking up. And in the meantime, F&E, pretty please do a Zulily sale!

DEALS: 15% OFF for readers with the discount code: PreBaby15

GIVEAWAY ITEM: 1 coverall. Open Internationally

NOHI KIDS

Types of clothes: *baby* *toddler* *child*

Ah… I smile when I think of their name. Maybe because their clothes are so happy, maybe because no other clothing item has gotten SO much love and feedback and notice as this owl onesie from strangers and friends alike.

This onesie surprised me with continuing to fit Alexis from birth all the way to her 3rd months’ birthday when EVERY SINGLE piece of clothing has long been put away till the next baby. I had to actually go and double check the size and sure enough it said 0-3 months. Alexis hadn’t worn anything 0-3 months since she was 2 months old :) So yeah, it’s stretchy and fits for a long time. I did find the pants to be very tight in the waist and we weren’t really able to wear them at all, since we were cloth diapering. So if you do cloth diaper, I’d be careful with pant sizing – they have a very tight elastic. The new summer line has another owl onesie that is more summery and I’ve been drooling over that one for a bit now. I do love their other styles as well- Nohi Kids is one of the few organic companies that makes it fun to dress your baby in organic.

GIVEAWAY ITEM: a onesie or a tee. Open to US and Canada

THE SPUNKY STORK

Types of clothes: *baby* *toddler* *child*

Fun fun fun onesies! That’s where you can have your creativity shine! Custom organic onesies, as well as cute pre-made ones. I couldn’t help but sing “Lexi is Bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S!”  every time I’d put her in it. It’s very stretchy, so it actually lasted a long time. That’s the one thing where companies differed a lot. Some literally lasted a week, while others she couldn’t grow out of.  The next ones to buy for us are MUGGLE onesie, When I grow up I want to be a zombie and trouble! I still can’t help it but crack up at the bottom picture: crossed eyes, arrow on her forehead and Live Long and Prosper sign{almost}

Deals: $12 Teeshirts

GIVEAWAY ITEM: any non-custom onesie. Open to US only

Funkoos

Types of clothes: *baby* *toddler* *accessories*

Funkoos took a simple white onesie and made it fun. Their collection is blue, pink and white organic pieces with beautiful embroidered graphics of whimsical characters. We’ve been wearing a sleepy fairy gown which is fairly large for the size and that’s always a bonus. The fabric is soft and simple- that means no harmful dyes, no chemicals, and being organic, no pesticides. I really love their bath set, but unfortunately it’s out of stock. But I do need to get a little bath robe for Alexis, it’d be so much fun! They have a really cute ducky one. I hate leaving her in a cold wet towel until we get her dressed so the robe will be perfect.

GIVEAWAY ITEM: Carousel or Trucks onesie. Open to US only.

B NATURE ORGANIC

Types of clothes: *baby* *toddler* *accessories*

This is the company that took the word organic literally and made their clothes look truly earthy and organic. The colors are muted whites, ivories, olives and brown, very earthy and very soft. We got a gown and booties and I think it looks adorable, though now I wish I would have skipped all gowns and just got the cute rompers and onesies instead. I love how the stitching gives it a colorful twist. Also, there are starter kits which I think is a brilliant idea. All you need for a newborn depending on the season it’s going to be born. In organic. Brilliant!
The fabric is soft and simple. They use color grown fabric in most cases and if dyes are used, they’re low impact dyes. And the clothes arrive in the most adorable “green” packaging. This is the company that truly takes the word ORGANIC to heart!

GIVEAWAY ITEM: Essential B Gift (2 super soft onesies). Open to continental US only.

Bungalow Bebe

Types of clothes: *baby* *toddler* *child* *accessories*

Every time I look at Bungalow Bebe styles, they make me think of Japan. Is it only me or they have this undeniable Far East feel to them?

We got a good wear out of these items and loved it. I appreciated a generous amount of snaps on the dress, because Alexis is so difficult to dress without fussiness, that any wide opening gets a 5 star from me (ok that sounded wrong). Again, the organic fabric is soft and it held up great in the wash, not fading or wearing off at all.

If you have a boy, they have an adorable Monster Hoodie that I almost want tot get for Alexis. I can totally picture a boy or a girl going to karate lessons in that hoodie and red is such a flattering color. For girls I can’t get enough of Alejandra Sash Shirt, the ultimate in girly elegance and I am all about that. {Isn’t it funny how I can love a karate style hoodie and a girly top at the same time? I was the exact same way as a little girl: a tomboy and a girly girl}

Deals: 10% OFF first order, 30% off the Eva dress ( in the picture below)

MY NATURAL BABY BOUTIQUE

Another “all you need is here” type of store. Bpa free products, organic toys, organic blankets, suncare, teethers, loveys, bath products. I just discovered a sun hat with UPF 50+ that I HAVE to have in Florida sun. We got to use the Swaddle Design’s organic towel and organic lovey. The lovey has been incredibly useful in the first few months. It is small enough that you do not have to worry about it obstructing airways and Alexis has always been able to grab onto it. She’d have it in the swing, in the stroller, in a carrier. At first she’d just place her hands by the sides of it, but soon she was grabbing it and bringing it to her mouth. When we had that teething episode, we got the lovey wet and froze it a bit, then let her chew on it to relieve her gums. Whenever I go out with our Nordic carrier, I make sure to place this lovey over the top of it, so that Alexis was chewing and sucking on the organic lovey rather than non-organic carrier (she sucks on EVERYTHING nowadays). The towel is great and absorbent too. If there was one thing that I could have in organic (not including things she puts in her mouth), it would be a towel, since a baby’s skin absorbs more when it’s wet.

DEALS: Sale up to 40%

Swaddle Designs

Types of clothes: *baby* *accessories*

While not an exclusively organic company, Swaddle Designs does have a decent organic collection. In the pictures below, Lexi is wearing one of my favorite ZzzipMe Sacks. I have to say, it’s the best most flattering fitting sack I’ve ever seen. As soon as you put your baby in it, they become a baby-model looking all prim and proper and dapper {or again is it just me?}. We’ve used the sack quite often, because she grew out of swaddling early on and yet I was always worried about  her being too cold. We’d use a footie and this sack or during the day when the sun warms up our bedroom, just a diaper and the sack. First of all, it’s SOFT! It has always amazed me how 100% cotton can mean so many things in terms of the feel of the fabric. Here there’s a bit of “fuzziness” to it. Just a warm soft sack that makes me wish Swaddle Designs would release one in adult size {hint hint} As you can see my chubster is plenty comfy in it and I just want to hug the bejesus out of her when I see her chubby arms sticking out of this pink cuteness.

Deals:  Save 10% with Promo code: Celebrate
GIVEAWAY ITEM: ZzzzipMe Sack. Open to US and Canada

Estella-NYC

Types of clothes: *baby* *toddler* *child*

I have a soft spot for anything NYC. Really. As soon as I see a company that is based in the city, I go “Aaahhhh, New York”. I’ve had lots of good memories there. Ok, wait, I’m supposed to talk about clothing. Yeah ok… So Estella NYC (“Ahhhhh New York!!!”) is a designer baby clothing shop taht stocks and sells some of the coolest baby designers out there, as well as their own nice collection of organic cotton, 100% cotton and bamboo outfits.

Now here’s where I am torn. I got sent two bamboo pieces out of their new layette collection and OH-MY-FREAKING-GOD, it is the NICEST FABRIC I’ve have ever had the privilege to touch. I’m not kidding you! Bamboo is just Ah-mazing. So I got obsessed with bamboo, literally obesssed. To have my precious baby dressed in something so light, so soft, so huggable – that’s beyond a dream of mine. Heck, before she was born I was hoping to only clothe her in items that had no tags as to not irritate her in any way. But here was this out-of-this world goodness. I went on buying everything and anything I could in bamboo, it is THAT good. When she’s wearing the romper, it feels like I am holding her naked but better.

That’s where I got smacked in the face… One of my readers brought to my attention how bamboo is made. See, I’ve always thought (and I am sure it’s marketed that way on purpose) that bamboo being so “eco” and so “sustainable” is of course FREE OF CHEMICALS that we’ve been trying to avoid. I was wrong. Most bamboo is made WITH the use of chemicals. If you use conventional clothing (non-organic), then it’s no big deal to you, ignore that whole part above and concentrate on how incredible the fabric feels. But if you are after as chemical free living as we try to be, then just keep in mind that bamboo doesn’t equal organic.  I didn’t stop using them, they are just too soft and feel like skin, but I did make sure to wash any new bamboo clothing several times before use.

I’ve also bought many other bamboo items from different retailers, but none of them compare to this Estella Bamboo layette collection. This is by far the softest, thinest set of clothing I’ve ever seen.

DEALS: up to 70% off Sale Items, plus free shipping over $100

HALO

Types of clothes: *baby*

Very few people haven’t heard of Halo SleepSacks. They are almost a household name in the world of wearable blankets. The concept is simple, it’s an armless sack with a zipper to be worn at night. The one we have is made out of simple 100% organic cotton and is very generously sized. Alexis had plenty of room for her legs in it and I really liked how the bottom was very wide and loose so she didn’t feel constricted.  And most importantly she was always warm in it. This particular blanket is on the thicker more solid side of cotton, so it’s perfect for colder nights.  I am also a fan of anything that has a zipper and doesn’t have arms when it comes to baby clothing. Just makes it so much easier to put them into, when it’s late at night and babies are tired and fussy. So needless to say, we’ll be wearing the Halo until we grow out of it. Oh and if you’re a Disney fan, they are some ADORABLE Disney princess styles, as well as very cool boy designs.

DEALS: Clearance on some organic items.

GIVEAWAY ITEM: a standard cotton Halo sack. US and Canada

BEST BABY ORGANICS

Types of clothes: *baby* *toddler* *child* *mama* *accessories*

One of the two websites that are online retailers for all things organic and natural. At Best Baby Organics you can find literally ANYTHING, from maternity bands to swim diapers, to organic clothing, to cribs to nursing clothes. I’ve discovered so many useful items from their website. Nursing clothes, nursing bras, baby clothes- they have made it a point to sell only the most interesting and often unusual and unusually useful items. Alexis got to wear their  Lukeeno onesie and a Lukeeno tee. Lukeeno onesie is the one we took to the hospital to dress her into once she was born. It’s a good warm thick onesie that lasted for quite a long time as well. She still fits into the long sleeved tee and wears it occasionally when the house is toocold from the A/C and we need an additional layer.

DEALS: 15% OFF + Free shipping over $35

GIVEAWAY ITEM: a Lukeeno tee and pants set. Open to US and Canada.

Other organic brands that I use and like who unfortunately couldn’t participate in this post and giveaway at this time are: Sage Creek Organics, Broken Trycicle, Little Shrimp, Green Baby.

Now that you’re done reading about these brands, some of them were generous enough to offer a giveaway item or two for my readers to win. I went back and forth trying to decide whether one person should win them all, or we should have 1 winner per brand with a total of 11 winners. Let me know what you think. But for this one I decided 11 winners would be better. That way more people would get a little treat.

The following are the prizes: 1 Finn&Emma coverall, 2 Polarn O.Pyret items, 2 Nosilla Organics items, 1 Lukeeno Tee & Pant set, 1 Boob terry set, 1 Swaddle Design’s ZzzzipMe Sack, 1 Halo Sleep Sack, 1 Funkoos onesie, 1 Spunky Stork onesie, 2-pack Bambino Land muslin Swaddle, 1 Nohi kids onesie or Tee, 1 Essential B gift from B Nature.

So this giveaway is a bit different from others, but it’s pretty simple. The only 3 mandatory entries are to follow The Art of making a Baby, answer a simple question and to create a Pinterest Board. After these two you’ll have a bunch of other options to enter if you wish. So read below in the RULES section on how to create a Pinterest Board.

BELOW ARE THE GIVEAWAYS RULES
and Mandatory Entries: {read carefully}

There are three mandatory entries:

1. Follow this blog

2. Answer why you’d like to win (and brand preference in case you do win)

3. Create a Pinterest Board. Login into your Pinterest account (or create one if you don’t have it) and create a new board named Baby Clothing Brands.

For 10 entries you can simply repin every single pin from the board I already created, called BOBG: Big Organic Baby Giveaway {MANDATORY ENTRY}

To get an additional 25 entries, you can pin your own favorite items from each brand’s website.  Make sure to tag each pin with #BOBG {VOLUNTARY ENTRY}

Here’s the list of brands to visit and pin: Finn&Emma, Halo, Swaddle Designs, Funkoos, Polarn O.Pyret, Nosilla, Boob Design, Spunky Stork, Best Baby Organics, Bambino Land, Nohi Kids, Swaddle Designs, B Nature.

And that’s all!

After you’ve done that, you’ll have the option to do all the additional usual entries.

The giveaway is open internationally, however some brands aren’t able to ship internationally, so the prizes will be distributed accordingly.

The winning entry will be verified and the winner disqualified if the action is not found or if the mandatory items are not fullfilled.
Make sure to notate how you’re following the blog in the extra info field (entry #1). The entry won’t count if that information is missing.
See the rafflecopter widget for additional terms and conditions.

UPDATE: You can now log into the Rafflecopter through Facebook or just by using your name/email.

{If you’re not sure how to use to enter, feel free to watch this video tutorial or email me at contact {at} prebabyblog {dot} com
Otherwise, make sure to read everything carefully. Click the DO IT link first, then I’VE DONE IT once the action is completed}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. The above mentioned companies sent me a sample of their product for review. All opinions are 100% my own.

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Last weekend we went to get some video shots done at the  local shopping mall and go grocery shopping. I attempted to do an “OUTFIT” shot, but as usual it was a challenge in our 90 degree heat with a baby who decided that grass is much more interesting than the camera in front of her. So that’s the best I’ve got.

I was also excited to finally wear my “going-home” dress with a matching romper for Alexis, now that she is big enough for it.

I am finding out that I almost always end up wearing nursing clothes (mostly Boob Design, because I am yet to find another nursing company with nice looking clothes) rather than normal clothes with a low neckline. It appears that most of my “low neckline” outfits are just not LOW enough to make it comfortable. Layering a nursing tank underneath isn’t an option since it’s really hot. So I am thinking that I might need to start looking for more nursing brands out there, sort of like I did with maternity. Because I am definitely not ok with resorting to simple tanks for the next 2 years. One can only pull of a wife-beater once or twice a week, I cannot live it them.

Elena: Boob Sailor Nursing dress
Alexis: Sailor Romper and Melondipity hair flower
Andrew: A&F polo and Express shorts

What is your favorite nursing clothing brand? What do you do for nursing clothes?